Android 13, new permission management hinders Tasker, Join and other apps

Among the many innovations introduced by Google with Android 13 (we have summarized them here, you can also find the video) there is one controversial. In fact, to increase privacy and decrease the possibility that an attacker could steal valuable information, the engineers have limited the memory duration of the elements saved on the clipboard to one hour. And not only that, because this it can no longer be automatically shared with other devicesso the future of services like Join is uncertain, since Google has no plans to take a step back.

Join is an app that allows cross-device sharing of SMS, notifications and notes, essentially bringing the shared notes function to Android, which on the Apple side allows you to copy text, images, photos or videos from one Cupertino device to another. Android 13 introduces a different management of permissions and Join, which until “yesterday” worked quite effectively and on time, now has difficulty accessing the logs. This kind of app can technically survive, but with an immediacy far from that achieved with previous versions of Android: they will need continually ask the user for access to the logshowever, being able to do so only when they are in the foreground.

Another app by João Dias, the developer of Join, is also clashing with the news of Android 13. The app in question is certainly the best known: also Tasker in fact it needs continuous access to the Android log to work properly, so da determine the context in which the user moves and recognize the triggers to give away at the right time the automations that have made it famous over the years. The problem ended up Issue Tracker where is it Google said it didn’t want to go back with all due respect to Join, Task and the other apps that are affected by a new permission management that is undoubtedly more effective on the privacy front but insensitive to the needs of apps that many users have found and find useful, smart.